iPhone-maker Foxconn not gonna save Sharp

Sharp starts making plans to save itself without help

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iPhone-maker Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn, will not come to the rescue of floundering Japanese manufacturers Sharp, says Reuters.

Sharp will have to look to itself to save its wilting electronics manufacturing business, says Reuters' unnamed source.

Sharp had asked the Taiwanese bits-maker Hon Hai for a cash infusion in return for a 9.9 percent stake in the company, but it sounds like Hon Hai has been dragging its feet and the deal is now off.

"We cannot make a plan based on something that is uncertain. For us, it's over," said the source.

The cash formed an important part of a rescue package for Sharp that will be presented to shareholders in March. Sharp has already drawn in cash from Qualcomm in a package that will see Qualcomm invest in making smartphone screens using Sharp's IZGO tech – touted as having twice the resolution of normal screens with 90 percent power savings.

Sharp will have to find the cash elsewhere or significantly restructure to make up the shortfall. The company faces falling revenues as the markets contract in its core area of TVs and PC displays, and is reeling from stiff competition from rivals such as the rampantly successful Samsung.